S13.E00 Christmas Special 2023

[zoey1996]

2023 Call the Midwife Holiday Special to air on December 25, 2023. 

The Holiday Special begins two weeks before Christmas with Apollo 8 poised to circle the moon. Sister Monica Joan (Judy Parfitt) is convinced this could be her last Yuletide and decides she’ll not live to see man walk on the moon. The Nonnatus Family, including Trixie’s (Helen George) brother Geoffrey (Christopher Harper), decide something must be done to try and lighten her state of mind. Nancy (Megan Cusack) has recommitted to staying at Nonnatus House and Sister Julienne (Jenny Agutter) has offered her and Colette (Francesca Fullilove) a room for the foreseeable future. 

Trixie and Matthew (Olly Rix), fresh from their honeymoon, are preparing their first Christmas together as husband and wife when Geoffrey pays them an unexpected visit days before Christmas. Cyril (Zephryn Taitte) gently intervenes when he discovers a lost soul living alone in a dilapidated basement flat. For this man, Christmas is a reminder of all he’s lost and all he’s never had. Nurse Crane (Linda Bassett), away on her refresher course, makes it home in time for Christmas festivities despite a treacherously heavy snowfall.

Description from the PBS website.

[Quilt Fairy]

I'm thrilled that we're getting the current Christmas special on Christmas Day!  Makes me feel very British!

Also, PBS is airing several of the previous specials (3 or 4 of them) on Christmas Eve.

[Salacious Kitty]

My PBS station is airing All Creatures Great and Small on Christmas Eve. 

[Daff]

I really look forward to this every year. Like a Christmas gift from Poplar!

[Quilt Fairy]

11 hours ago, Salacious Kitty said:

My PBS station is airing All Creatures Great and Small on Christmas Eve. 

I should have said Christmas Eve Day. We've got Creatures on in the evening as well. 

[Salacious Kitty]

2 hours ago, Quilt Fairy said:

I should have said Christmas Eve Day. We've got Creatures on in the evening as well. 

Nope, no CTM today, either. 👎

[LGraves65]

Remind me: does PBS edit the Christmas specials?

[Orcinus orca]

A lovely episode and even the cat has a happy ending!

 

Edited December 26, 2023 by Orcinus orca

[MMEButterfly]

What a lovely show. When Brenda started turning blue, I was so worried. I know what happens if you turn blue on Midwife. But happiness many times over. And Geoffrey always delights. And Shelagh, as always,  makes me feel an inadequate mother. Happy Christmas to me.

[Quilt Fairy]

I thought it was kind of, well, "scattered" is the best word I can think of.   Too many plot threads and they weren't really coherent.  The ending was lovely, though. 

 

On 12/24/2023 at 2:06 PM, Salacious Kitty said:

Nope, no CTM today, either. 👎

Sorry.  It was the PBS station in Chicago.  In the future I will add the caveat that PBS stations program individually. 

[HappyHanna]

Another predictably satisfying Call the Midwife Christmas special.

The Mr Sharma story of course made me cry,  and the cat,  and the entire Toni Douglas story.  Always enjoy the dynamic with Trixie and her brother and Cyril continues to be the hero of Poplar 

Spoiler

And no mention of Lucille, sigh. He deserves better. 

Quibbles: 

The whole Nancy and Collete continue to be publically embraced as a single mother household and move into Nonnatus House...I know it's the late 1960s but a wee bit unlikely, especially for a religious order.

I've always found the May storyline uncomfortable, too much white savior and kidnapping.

Are Trixie and Matthew living in a two bedroom? They didn't have an extra room for Trixie's brother, he had to sleep on the couch. Didn't Matthew have a bigger house before,  I know his dad died and there was issues with the business,  but isn't he still fairly rich?

Looking forward to the new season!

[Jodithgrace]

Haven’t we had the whole Sister Monica Joan is depressed and convinced she’s about to die story before? 

Where did sister MJ grow up? The whole scene she described doesn’t sound English, somehow. Why a Flemish painting? Knowing PBS, the whole thing was explained during the scenes they cut out. 

That poor Indian gentleman. What a horrible life he’s had since the war. Unfortunately they really didn’t diagnose PTSD until Vietnam.  

I’m glad the missing, possibly imaginary, boyfriend showed up. We can’t have a Christmas special with a sad ending, can we?

I like the way Reggie is quietly determined, and doesn’t let people ride roughshod over his opinions. He’s right. Shepherds are a dime a dozen, but angels are special. Was this episode based on a real painting? It seems unlikely that the unknown Flemish painter included an angel with Down Syndrome. 

[txhorns79]

51 minutes ago, HappyHanna said:

The whole Nancy and Collete continue to be publically embraced as a single mother household and move into Nonnatus House...I know it's the late 1960s but a wee bit unlikely, especially for a religious order.

I was thinking the problem was a more practical one, i.e. they really are not set up to house children, and it feels like it's going to be a real challenge for everyone given the midwives really need to be available at a moment's notice, at all hours.  However, that may have been a bigger issue earlier in the series, and that's not as big an issue with the maternity home now operating.  I just hope Collette is used sparingly, because I don't want to see time taken from the other characters.    

25 minutes ago, Jodithgrace said:

Where did sister MJ grow up?

During the first season, it was explained that Sister MJ grew up in a wealthy home, and essentially walked away from all that, deeply upsetting her parents, to become a nun. 

I was very glad to see the cat was okay.

52 minutes ago, Quilt Fairy said:

I thought it was kind of, well, "scattered" is the best word I can think of.   Too many plot threads and they weren't really coherent.  The ending was lovely, though. 

I thought this was a good way of describing the episode: "scattered."  I do want to tell the writers that it is okay if not every character has something to do in a given episode.    

[HappyHanna]

34 minutes ago, Jodithgrace said:

Was this episode based on a real painting? It seems unlikely that the unknown Flemish painter included an angel with Down Syndrome. 

https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/436781

It is a real painting, and there is plenty of speculation on the internet that it shows people with Downs Syndrome. But who knows,  that time period wasn't known for great face depictions (so many old man faced baby Jesuses) and Down Syndrome wasn't medically categorized until the mid 1800s. 

[CoyoteBlue]

1 hour ago, Jodithgrace said:

I like the way Reggie is quietly determined, and doesn’t let people ride roughshod over his opinions. He’s right. Shepherds are a dime a dozen, but angels are special.

Ugh, I hate when Reggie throws his tantrums. They may be quiet but they're still stubborn tantrums. What Reggie wants, Reggie whines until he gets. WTF makes him so special he gets to decide his role?

[voiceover]

1 hour ago, Jodithgrace said:

Unfortunately they really didn’t diagnose PTSD until Vietnam.  

Sure they did.  It was just called “shell shock” and later: “battle fatigue”.  First time I’d ever heard it described as  “moral failing” or whatever.

Just my second ep.  I get the appeal & look forward to starting from the beginning.

And Dr Turner: niiiiiiiiiiice! In all kinds of ways.

[dancingdreamer]

I just love this show. It makes me laugh, and cry. I got goosebumps,  when they showed the nativity  scene.  I love that Reggie  is thinking  for himself  now, he made a perfect  angel. They are introducing  infertility now, and what you can do. The woman who was supposed  to have twins, ended up with quads! God help her.

I forgot  Nurse Crane, I was so happy  she arrived  safely,  I was so worried,  she was leaving,  and would  have an accident. My favorite  character. 

It finished  off our Christmas day, perfectly. 

Edited December 26, 2023 by dancingdreamer

[JudyObscure]

Thanks for finding the painting for us @HappyHanna, saved me a lot of hunting. I actually don't see any wings on the little one who is kneeling over the manger and I think he looks just like the shepherd who is center back.  I wouldn't tell anyone in Poplar that, though.

I agree that they tried to pack a little too much in.  My TV plays the background music too loudly and I think I heard, "big emotional conclusion" music about eight times. It still made me cry even when I knew I was being manipulated.  Darn show.

 

Edited December 26, 2023 by JudyObscure

[debraran]

2 hours ago, JudyObscure said:

Thanks for finding the painting for us @HappyHanna, saved me a lot of hunting. I actually don't see any wings on the little one who is kneeling over the manger and I think he looks just like the shepherd who is center back.  I wouldn't tell anyone in Poplar that, though.

I agree that they tried to pack a little too much in.  My TV plays the background music too loudly and I think I heard, "big emotional conclusion" music about eight times. It still made me cry even when I knew I was being manipulated.  Darn show.

 

This explains a bit more. They do say "shepherd and angel". I think Reggie can come off pushy but he's worthy of having opinions and I'm sure I've seen times when he was told No. I would hate to see him treated like he was 4 all the time even with disability. https://www.rifton.com/adaptive-mobility-blog/blog-posts/2013/october/down-syndrome-art-paintings

 

Lack of Moral Fiber was new to me but "British".

Lack of Moral Fibre (LMF) was a punitive designation used by the Royal Air Force during the Second World War to stigmatize aircrew who refused to fly operations12. The term was also applied to World War II pilots who snapped under the strain of combat and refused to fly, and were then accused of lack of moral fiber3. The term refers to ethical courage and dates back to the second half of the 1800s

 

Edited December 26, 2023 by debraran

[libgirl2]

8 hours ago, txhorns79 said:

During the first season, it was explained that Sister MJ grew up in a wealthy home, and essentially walked away from all that, deeply upsetting her parents, to become a nun. 

I was very glad to see the cat was okay.

 

I remembered that right away, so I was surprised she got an orange, a rag doll and the Book of Common Prayer in her stocking. I could see her getting wonderfully wrapped expensive gifts. 

I'm always happy when the cat or dog get thru an episode unscathed. 

[MrPissyPuppy]

I got a bit of  Dionne quintuplets vibe from the doctor who oversaw Brenda's pregnancy.   

https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2019/11/03/dionne-quintuplets-exploitation-five-girls-raised-baby-zoo/

[Daff]

7 hours ago, voiceover said:

Sure they did.  It was just called “shell shock” and later: “battle fatigue”.  First time I’d ever heard it described as  “moral failing” or whatever.

Yes, and in his particular case, he very clearly described “survivor’s guilt”. I suspect the way he viewed his role as navigator, he also saw himself as being responsible for the crash as well.

[Daff]

This special clearly had a different feel to it. I understand the sense of “scattered” as many of our favorite characters communicated by phone. Overall, I felt like it was hectic, with so much needing to be accomplished. The whole thing was wonderful, the specialist was the big grinch, but they limited the doses of him we had to endure. I especially liked that all the activity and prep centered around and for our regular heroes, but the end result was shared, as always, with the larger community. Nice break from the “show” or contest format we usually see at Christmas.

[Daff]

Oh, and who leaves a tortoise in a car in winter? Or, for that matter, transports a pet in the trunk? CO, anyone? Also, love these winter eps where they try to drive with the windshield all fogged up (pre-condensers). Back then, my mother always wanted a Ford because she swore by the exceptionally powerful heaters!

Edited December 26, 2023 by Daff
added comments

[Driad]

The only couple I sort of know who had quadruplets also gave them names starting with A, B, C, and D, as the parents in this episode did.  I hope the local store carries nail polish in several colors, to help tell the babies apart.

[MaryHedwig]

I love that the nuns now have their own resident gay husband!

 

[marceline]

I agree that this episode felt a little overstuffed. 

• I know some people wondered what Cyril's role on the show would be with Lucille gone. I think he's basically playing the role of town pastor. He's in the role Tom Hereward was.
• Confession: When Sr. Monica Joan declared that this would be her final Christmas on earth, I thought "Please let that be true!" I've done a full rewatch of this series over the last few weeks and I am beyond tired of Sr. MJ's depressions and on-again, off-again dementia. Let her go and give her a grand sendoff like Sr. Evangelista's.
• I still haven't forgotten that Sr. Veronica came on as a pathological liar so I don't trust anything she's involved with.
• Is Trixie's brother a permanent addition to the show? I like the character enough and I'm happy for Trixie to have family. I'm just wondering how Flamboyantly Gay Osteopath fits into the show.
• What was the point of Phyllis even being in this episode? After all of Sr. MJ's shenanigans I was afraid the show would do a gut punch of killing off Phyllis instead. 

Edited December 26, 2023 by marceline

[Mermaid Under]

Quote

Another predictably satisfying Call the Midwife Christmas special.

It was satisfying to have it back, but the predictability led me to do some channel surfing, sadly.  The only thing I missed (and perhaps it is not important) was why Mr. Sharma was returning to his condemned flat now.  Where had he been before now, and why had he been away so long that he had to break into this flat? The timeline of his sad history with the RAF and his mental and physical problems didn't seem to match up with his suddenly being back in Poplar in December of 1968.

Quote

I've always found the May story line uncomfortable, too much white savior and kidnapping.

I'm sorry they even started down this road and I don't see how they are going to resolve it to satisfy the reality of the 1960s and sensibility of the 2020s. 

Edited December 26, 2023 by Mermaid Under
repetition is not good writing, and I thought of something else

[Straycat80]

I always love the Christmas specials. It was maybe a little too much overkill with so many storylines, maybe shouldn’t have had the Indian gentleman in there. 
I’m so glad everyone had a happy ending and I may have shred a tear or two. 

[Orcinus orca]

12 minutes ago, Mermaid Under said:

The only thing I missed (and perhaps it is not important) was why Mr. Sharma was returning to his condemned flat in December of 1968. 

He was living there and got kicked out because they were boarding up the place.  He had nowhere else to go so tore the boards off and went back in.

[Badger]

18 hours ago, HappyHanna said:

https://www.mweetmuseum.org/art/collection/search/436781

It is a real painting, and there is plenty of speculation on the internet that it shows people with Downs Syndrome. But who knows,  that time period wasn't known for great face depictions (so many old man faced baby Jesuses) and Down Syndrome wasn't medically categorized until the mid 1800s. 

The other thing is that the theory that the angel was meant to have Down syndrome happened in late 2002.

[Badger]

1 hour ago, Mermaid Under said:

 

I remember there was an early episode where a woman gave birth at home and all the commotion from her husband and children ended up waking the family tortoise who was hibernating in a box under the table.

I liked the reference to Biafra.  I still remember the children with their huge distended bellies and stick arms and legs.  I went to Catholic school, and Biafra was one of the missions we donated to.  

[caitmcg]

20 hours ago, Jodithgrace said:

Knowing PBS, the whole thing was explained during the scenes they cut out.

I believe the Christmas special (or as PBS styles it, the Holiday special) is the only one that we get that's not edited.

20 hours ago, txhorns79 said:

I just hope Collette is used sparingly, because I don't want to see time taken from the other characters.

20 hours ago, txhorns79 said:

I thought this was a good way of describing the episode: "scattered."  I do want to tell the writers that it is okay if not every character has something to do in a given episode.    

This is a show that has a huge cast of regular characters, plus stories of the week. Half-hour sitcoms usually have A and B plots, and hour-long dramas often A, B, and C plots, but yeah, CTM always seems to add a letter or two. The episodes were less hectic in the early seasons, perhaps because the plots were largely lifted from Jennifer Worth's memoirs.

4 hours ago, Driad said:

The only couple I sort of know who had quadruplets also gave them names starting with A, B, C, and D, as the parents in this episode did.  I hope the local store carries nail polish in several colors, to help tell the babies apart.

Funny story, when we were in our teens I knew two sisters who were two-thirds of a set of triplets, and one of them told me her parents had planned to do A, B, and C names and picked out boy and girl names for each possibility. They were Betsy and Cindy — and their first-born brother was Michael, because their parents simply could not agree on how to spell their A name (Alan vs. Allen). 

I was glad that there was a quick mention early on about setting up the Shelbys with resources for after the birth of their "twins," because they'll (literally) doubly need them with four newborns.

When Shelagh kept looking worried as she listened for Toni's baby's heartbeat (again and again, as Toni kept talking), of course I was worried about a full-term stillbirth. But as someone said above, we can't have a sad ending in the Christmas special.

[Suzn]

4 hours ago, marceline said:

• Confession: When Sr. Monica Joan declared that this would be her final Christmas on earth, I thought "Please let that be true!" I've done a full rewatch of this series over the last few weeks and I am beyond tired of Sr. MJ's depressions and on-again, off-again dementia. Let her go and give her a grand sendoff like Sr. Evangelista's.

Times 1,000. Sister Monica Joan has overstayed by several seasons.  She doesn't even seem to have dementia anymore.  In this episode she was depressed but seemed completely lucid.  We've managed the loss of main characters and yet she hangs on.  Apparently, she will outlive all of them.

I like Trixie's brother, but if he stays, he is bound to cause trouble somehow.

I was so worried for Phyllis.  Losing her would be devastating.

[howiveaddict]

I thought the actress that plays Phyllis looked kind of frail.  Has she been ill.  And her driving in the storm had me worried.  Especially when she turned the car off to rest. I was afraid it wouldn't restart.

[Daff]

13 hours ago, Orcinus orca said:

He was living there and got kicked out because they were boarding up the place.  He had nowhere else to go so tore the boards off and went back in.

He did so almost immediately (knew he would when he headed out for tools). Sad that he was living there, insisted on staying with vermin and a couple inches of water on the floor. It had to have smelled awful.

[DonnaMae]

15 hours ago, Suzn said:

I was so worried for Phyllis.  Losing her would be devastating.

She's my favorite, and Sister Monica Joan can go at any time.

[Shelbie]

Couldn’t agree more. I’m sick to death of Monica Joan.

[cinsays]

3 hours ago, DonnaMae said:

She's my favorite, and Sister Monica Joan can go at any time.

i love both of them

[Orcinus orca]

29 minutes ago, cinsays said:

i love both of them

I know is an UO, but I like Sr. MJ as well.  And while I didn't like Phyllis at first, I adore her now.

I am not invested in Colette and her mom, though.  Just an odd situation.  Do the nuns babysit when Nurse Corrigan is out and about?

[Sarah 103]

 

20 hours ago, caitmcg said:

When Shelagh kept looking worried as she listened for Toni's baby's heartbeat (again and again, as Toni kept talking), of course I was worried about a full-term stillbirth. But as someone said above, we can't have a sad ending in the Christmas special.

I had a variation of the same thought. Mothers and babies do not die in the Christmas episode, but then I thought maybe this year will be the exception. They need to revisit the quadruplets later in the series. There is no way in 1968 babies (especially quadruplets) born 6 weeks premature all end up being perfectly healthy babies.

When Tim was allowed to assist/practice during the medical exam I wondered if the show will last long enough to see Tim actually join his father's practice.

[Shermie]

On 12/26/2023 at 8:09 AM, MrPissyPuppy said:

I got a bit of  Dionne quintuplets vibe from the doctor who oversaw Brenda's pregnancy.

I thought of the Dionnes too, but they were a completely natural birth. This doctor seemed exploitive like the Dionne’s doctor, but in this case it was because he was proud and excited about his experiment.

On 12/26/2023 at 4:16 PM, marceline said:

Confession: When Sr. Monica Joan declared that this would be her final Christmas on earth, I thought "Please let that be true!" I've done a full rewatch of this series over the last few weeks and I am beyond tired of Sr. MJ's depressions and on-again, off-again dementia. Let her go and give her a grand sendoff like Sr. Evangelista's.

Yeah, me too.

This show is the TV equivalent of comfort food. It’s warm and cozy and satisfying. I don’t care if they crammed it full; I want to see what’s what with all the characters. 

[Blackie]

On 12/25/2023 at 11:09 PM, Quilt Fairy said:

thought it was kind of, well, "scattered" is the best word I can think of.   Too many plot threads and they weren't really coherent.  The ending was lovely, though. 

 

That is usually my complaint, so maybe I was tired or because I didn't watch it all in one stretch, that I didn't find it as bad as usual. Although when I did resume watching, my PVR had jumped way ahead so I was swearing for a minute that they edited it a lot. Luckily I rewound and saw the whole episode and thought it was better than usual, and that is high praise from me.

 

1 hour ago, Sarah 103 said:

Mothers and babies do not die in the Christmas episode

 

Midwives do though, don't they? Didn't they kill off Barbara at Christmas? It seems to me there were a couple Christmas episodes in a row which were total downers.

[Notabug]

2 hours ago, Orcinus orca said:

I know is an UO, but I like Sr. MJ as well.  And while I didn't like Phyllis at first, I adore her now.

I am not invested in Colette and her mom, though.  Just an odd situation.  Do the nuns babysit when Nurse Corrigan is out and about?

I was wondering the same thing.  Nancy is a staff midwife, surely she has to be on call at night, either out in the community or at the maternity home.  What happens if she gets called out at night?  Colette is too young to fend for herself overnight.  Who gets up with her if she's sick?  Who gets her ready and off to school in the morning?  Or helps with her homework and puts her to bed in the evenings if Nancy is working?  What happens on weekends and holidays when Nancy works?  At this point, most of the nuns and midwives in residence are well past their prime childrearing ages and I cannot imagine, no matter how much they like Nancy, that they would be willing to sacrifice their own sleep on a regular basis so her child can live in the convent with her.

[debraran]

10 hours ago, Blackie said:

 

That is usually my complaint, so maybe I was tired or because I didn't watch it all in one stretch, that I didn't find it as bad as usual. Although when I did resume watching, my PVR had jumped way ahead so I was swearing for a minute that they edited it a lot. Luckily I rewound and saw the whole episode and thought it was better than usual, and that is high praise from me.

 

 

Midwives do though, don't they? Didn't they kill off Barbara at Christmas? It seems to me there were a couple Christmas episodes in a row which were total downers.

Barbara died at the end of the season but the Xmas special had Trixie come and take her midwife outfit.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-6529783/Viewers-left-drowning-tears-Call-Midwife-Christmas-special.html

Maybe Colette wont be thought of much but SMJ whom I like but has been given bad, erratic scripts, might be her "nanny" being close to her now.  The scripts for her are not the best and repetitive and I would think the writers would do better.

[Daff]

This preyed on my mind throughout (as it was mentioned at the beginning during assembly of the food boxes): what is a pine nut when it’s in England? In the US, A (one) pine nut is about the size of a shelled sunflower seed, so a choice between a coconut and “a pine nut” seems utterly ridiculous (especially for a family).

[Blackie]

12 minutes ago, Daff said:

so a choice between a coconut and “a pine nut” seems utterly ridiculous (especially for a family).

 

I missed that, but maybe she meant pineapple since that is what was in the food hamper brought to the air force man. All I thought was I hope the has a sharp knife. 

[pasdetrois]

On 12/25/2023 at 11:37 PM, Jodithgrace said:

I like the way Reggie is quietly determined, and doesn’t let people ride roughshod over his opinions. He’s right. Shepherds are a dime a dozen, but angels are special. Was this episode based on a real painting? It seems unlikely that the unknown Flemish painter included an angel with Down Syndrome. 

I gasped, then sobbed, when I saw that painting. We have Down syndrome in our family, and she still talks about when she played an angel in a long-ago Christmas pageant at her church.

Quote

Down Syndrome wasn't medically categorized until the mid 1800s. 

And Down syndrome babies would have rarely survived when the painting was made. Perhaps the artist was memorializing a loved one.

Quote

Ugh, I hate when Reggie throws his tantrums. They may be quiet but they're still stubborn tantrums. What Reggie wants, Reggie whines until he gets. WTF makes him so special he gets to decide his role?

I think of tantrums as screaming, throwing toys and stamping feet. I think the writers may be trying to correct the mistaken impression the public has of Down syndrome - that of endlessly smiling placid people who never have a bad day. They show Reggie as someone who has a range of emotions, can think for himself and speak up when he thinks it's important.

Mr. Sharma's story resonated with me as well, as my dad was a bomber navigator in WWII, flying missions out of England. For an idea of what these brave men endured during their missions, check out "Masters of the Air" coming to Apple TV in late January.  

Quote

I was so worried for Phyllis.  Losing her would be devastating.

I adore her - my favorite.

Edited December 28, 2023 by pasdetrois

[Quilt Fairy]

On 12/26/2023 at 9:03 PM, howiveaddict said:

Especially when she turned the car off to rest. I was afraid it wouldn't restart.

I was afraid she wouldn't restart!

[jschoolgirl]

On 12/26/2023 at 10:03 PM, howiveaddict said:

I thought the actress that plays Phyllis looked kind of frail. 

She looks like she has lost a lot of weight.

On 12/27/2023 at 7:18 PM, Notabug said:

Colette is too young to fend for herself overnight.  Who gets up with her if she's sick?  Who gets her ready and off to school in the morning?  Or helps with her homework and puts her to bed in the evenings if Nancy is working?  What happens on weekends and holidays when Nancy works?

I wonder if Geoffrey will step into an avuncular role here.